Foods to avoid when pregnant

Hormonal changes in your body during pregnancy don't just affect your emotional balance. The changes also lower your immune system - making it harder to fight infections and other illnesses.

Without the right dietary care and food hygiene, you and your baby could be at risk. By following basic safety tips, though, problems can be easily prevented.

Ensure that cold food is kept below 5 Celsius and hot food kept above 60 Celsius before serving. This will help stop the growth of bacteria that can cause food poisoning.

Make sure raw and cooked foods are kept separate. Never use the same utensils, such as knives, plates and chopping boards, for both.

Never defrost frozen food by leaving it at room temperature all day. Defrost overnight in the fridge, or use a microwave.

Use cooked food within 12 hours.

Wash hands thoroughly with warm, soapy water, then dry them, before and after handling food.

Bacteria types:

Listeria

Listeria can cause listeriosis - a very serious infection. Symptoms can take up to six weeks to occur. If the bacteria is transmitted to your newborn baby, it can cause miscarriage, infection, or stillbirth. Hygienic storage and handling of food is critical.

Salmonella

This can cause headache, fever, abdominal cramps, nausea, diarrohea and vomiting. In some cases, it may also cause miscarriage.

Toxoplamosis

A parasitic infection carried by cats (link to pets and pregnancy) and also found in raw or undercooked meats. It can lead to brain damage or blindness in your unborn child.

Prevention

Avoid changing the cat litter and any foods or drinks that contain raw egg. When gardening, ensure you wear gloves to protect yourself from coming into contact with cat poo.

All types of sprouts, such as alfalfa sprouts, broccoli sprouts, onion sprouts, sunflower sprouts, radish sprouts, snowpea sprouts, mungbeans and soybeans (raw or cooked) are also best avoided.

Other foods to avoid include:

Cold, smoked and raw seafood, especially oysters

Pre-cooked diced chicken, the type you buy at delicatessans and sandwich shops

Pate

Ham and other manufactured meats

Self-service salad bars or packages salads, such as coleslaw and pasta salad

Soft cheese, such as brie, camembert, fetta, cottage and ricotta

Soft-serve ice-cream and thick-shakes

Liver. Although liver is a rich source of iron, it also contains high levels of vitamin A - something which, in excess, can be harmful to a developing baby. Liver should only be consumed in small amounts during pregnancy (a maximum of 50g per week).

Mercury in fish

Fish is a great food for pregnancy and breastfeeding mothers but be careful which fish you choose. While some fish contain Omega 3 fatty acid - important for the development of the central nervous system in babies, before and after they are born - other fish may contain mercury levels that can affect the development of your baby's nervous system, leading to delayed speech and movement.

Studies have shown that the foetus is most at risk from mercury levels in fish during the third and fourth months of gestation.

Women who are already pregnant, or planning to become pregnant within the next six months, should avoid fish with high levels of mercury, such as shark, swordfish, orange roughy, gemfish, ling, southern bluefin tuna and barramundi.

This article was written by Claire Halliday for Kidspot, Australia's parenting resource for during your pregnancy. Sources include the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, State Government of Victoria Department of Human Services and Listeria and Pregnancy - published by the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ).